1-1-11: You Are Not Here by Mistake

As the clock strikes midnight tonight, 1-1-11 invites us to consider the meaning of each of our lives. For many, it begins with wisdom woven throughout the book, ONE, generously given as a gift by my mother-in-law this week. The subtitle, “How many people does it take to make difference?” offers more than a hint at the meaning of the inspiring collection by Dan Zadra and Kobi Yamada and the design of Steve Potter.

Before beginning the book, Zadra and Yamada invite readers to consider:

Instead of asking, “What can I get from life,” watch what happens when you ask, “What can I give?”

ONE is much more than wise words of encouragement. It is a call to action very much represented by 1-1-11 and embracing the difference your life can make.

Albert Einstein“Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose we know not, though sometimes we sense it. But we know from daily life that we exist for other people first of all, for whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson“Unselfish acts are the real miracles out of which all the reported miracles grow.”

Danny Thomas“All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”

Robert Ingersoll“We rise by lifting others.”

Margaret Mead“I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings.”

Albert Schweitzer“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but this I know: the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”

Seth Eisenberg is President of the nonprofit PAIRS Foundation in Weston, Florida, an industry leader in relationship and marriage education. Learn more about how PAIRS can help you make a difference in the world in Roadmap 2015.